If there's anything in a name, here it is. It appears that the Israeli Foreign Minister who is meeting with Europe's first High Representative is named Silvan Shalom Read about it here. Shalom is Hebrew for peace.

The Apostle Paul had some interesting things to say about the return of Christ. Paul said:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words (! Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Paul even gave clues as to when we can start expecting this event. He said:

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

In another place Paul tells us, before Christ returns, the Antichrist must come first. Paul said:

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).

It has come to amaze me how readily we are able to avoid the surface meaning of these Scriptures. Paul comes right out and says that we will see the Antichrist before Christ returns for us in the air. Nevertheless, we have found a way around Paul's words. And, naturally, we all want to follow.

Back to the name --Shalom. As I said before, Shalom means peace. And, the Israeli people are clearly crying out for peace -- as Paul says, for "Peace and safety!" In fact, they've been doing it since the early nineties -- since they began negotiating for peace with their neighbors. This could tell us the Antichrist is already well on his way.

You see, the Antichrist is expected to bring a false seven-year period of peace to Israel. I say false peace because, in the middle of the seven years, the Antichrist will break his agreement with Israel and bring swift destruction on himself and the world. From the book of Daniel we read:

And he (the Antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27).

In another verse we learned that the Antichrist will be from the same people who destroyed Jerusalem back in 70 AD (Daniel 9:26). In other words, the Antichrist will rise from out of the old Roman Empire. 

That's what is so intriguing about the European Union (EU). It is, in fact, a modern-day attempt at reviving the old Roman Empire. And, if Javier Solana's Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace is successful, that's exactly what we'll have -- a modern-day Roman Empire.

Solana negotiated the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for the EU back in 1995. This agreement is literally a covenant with many -- including Israel. And, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is behind the moves for peace that we're now witnessing in Israel.

The Gaza withdrawal was just the first phase. If things go according to plan, next will come withdrawal from areas, if not all, of the West Bank. Then, just as Bible prophecy foretells, the final issue for peace will be over control of old Jerusalem and the Temple Mount Read about it here. 

Back to what's in a name. Solana is Spanish for sunshine, or light. Interestingly, when the Philippine government introduced an anti-corruption bill, they named it the "Solana Covenant" Read about it here.

Is that's what's going on in Israel and the Middle East?

Is there another Solana Covenant?